Conventional showerheads are characterized by a valve controlling water flow to the showerhead and often a mode selector that allows a user to adjust the effluent spray pattern from the showerhead. While numerous structures have been developed to vary the showerhead aperture dimensions and/or number to modify the spray pattern, these showerheads have in common the requirement of manual actuation of a valve or apertured disc to modify showerhead effluent spray pattern. As a result, only a single spray pattern is experienced before a manual adjustment is required to sample another spray pattern. The requirement of user intervention to modify the spray pattern practically results in a less beneficial therapeutic bather experience, as well as excessive water usage through a water massage spray sequence not being followed with adequate temporal control.
While regulations exist as to maximal personal hygiene showerhead flow rates, the limitation of showerhead flow rate has no impact on the duration of shower usage. While timed showerhead flow valves are in widespread use in the institutional setting, such timed showerheads likewise fail to afford more than a binary action (off-on) between manual manipulations.
Thus, there exists a need for a showerhead providing multiple spray patterns without resort to a manual manipulation between each spray pattern. There also exists a need for a showerhead providing variation in flow rate without manual manipulation between the flow rates.